Family Nurse Practitioner Salary

Nurse Practitioner Salary In The United States

Family nurse practitioners are professionals who offer high-quality medical care services to families and children. According to the BLC, the average yearly salary for a family nurse practitioner in the United States is of around $92,000, with the highest 10% of them earning up to $120,000 or even more, per hear.

Pay Scale In Different Parts Of The US

The average yearly salary for family nurse practitioners varies a lot from one state to another, and nurse practitioners have become one of the most important and prolific forces in the health care industry. California is amongst the highest paying states, as it offers family nurse practitioners a mean annual wage of around $99,000, and so do the states of Texas, Florida and New York. Massachusetts, on the other hand, is said to pay its family nurse practitioners the highest average annual wage, with no less than $102,000.

Family Nurse Practitioner Job Description

A family nurse practitioner is more than just a doctor’s assistant, given the fact that these are considered to be advanced practice nurses (commonly referred to as APNs), which gives them the right to also diagnose, consult the patients and come up with the best treatment options for them. Family nurse practitioners work in community health centers, physician offices, nursing homes as well as hospitals, and they provide general medical care to patients of all ages. These professionals must be very caring, compassionate and communicative, they must treat all their patients with the utmost respect and part of their job duties involve recording medical histories, conduct various tests, provide accurate diagnosis followed by treatment as well as enhance public awareness on certain conditions and ailments.

Family nurse practitioners work closely with physicians, and they typically specialize on one field of activity, be it geriatric health, nurse midwifery, school health and such. Family nurse practitioners are allowed to prescribe medical treatments in all the 50 states of the US, just like physicians are, and they have the authority to practice independently in most of these states.

On the other hand, other notable duties and responsibilities of family nurse practitioners involve carrying out thorough physical exams and recording the overall health history of their patients, write prescriptions and prescribe various medical tests, provide useful advice to the physician in helping them decide on the most suitable treatment member and they even conduct counseling sessions for the patients and their family members. Most of these professionals work in either state owned hospitals or in private hospitals.

Programs:

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Programs:

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Programs:

Online Doctor of Nursing Practice

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Becoming a good and trustworthy family nurse practitioner takes a lot of time, training, experience and dedication, and in order to become one you must firstly get a Bachelor’s Degree provided by one of the many accredited nurse practitioner programs. Most of these schools require future family nurse practitioners to have a solid background and some clinical experience in the field as well, and it is not uncommon for the most ambitious ones of these health care professionals to even pursue a Master’s Degree or even a Doctoral Degree in this field, which would take several more years. The training culminates with the certification exam.

According to BLS statistics, there is a over 25% employment growth expected to happen in the field of family nurse practitioner between the years of 2010 and 2020, therefore the job outlook is excellent in this particular medical branch. A good family nurse practitioner typically works along a family physician and prescribes medications, diagnoses illnesses as well as orders and analyzes the different health screenings coming from their patients. Moreover, it is also the responsibility of the family nurse practitioner to manage all the follow-up appointments.

The first and most important step is to pursue an undergraduate degree provided by an accredited university or college, as this will increase your chances of getting an entry-level position in either a hospital or in a clinical setting. After that, it is highly recommended for family nurse practitioners to get a graduate degree that will significantly boost their career potential, and such a degree typically takes two years to complete.

The next and most important step every future family nurse practitioner must take is applying for the nursing license, which is basically the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. You must sit for this exam only after you get your Bachelor’s or your Associate’s degree. The certification is also essential and it is usually provided either by the ANCC or by the AANP.

Certification

As you may know already, there are several specializations that require you to get a certification in addition to the licensing described above, and family health is one of these specializations. In other words, you cannot become a family nurse practitioner in the United States unless you get this certification, and in order for that to happen you must firstly take the certification examination that is administered by either the American Nurses Credentialing Center or by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, both of which are equally important for your future as a family nurse practitioner. After you get your board certification, you must make sure to maintain it on a regular basis by getting what is known as continuing nursing education credits.

Family Nurse Practitioner Salary In Canada, UK And Australia

Family nurse practitioners are very well paid in different countries, not only in the United States alone. For instance, those who live and work in the United Kingdom should expect a mean yearly wage of around 40,000 pounds, while family nurse practitioners that work in Australia typically earn around AU$90,000 a year, without including the shift allowances and additional award payments. Family nurse practitioners who work in Canada have a median yearly salary of approximately C$100,000.

Verdict On Family Nurse Practitioner Salary

To sum it all up, the family nurse practitioner salary is certainly very good even for those who hold an entry level position. If you are driven by salary and the financial reward associated with this medical position, then it is highly recommended to move to the states of New York or California, where these medical professionals are paid the most.